Current laundry detergent and/or fabric care compositions include a complex combination of active ingredients such as surfactants, enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase, and/or cellulase), bleaching agents, a builder system, suds suppressors, soil-suspending agents, soil-release agents, optical brighteners, softening agents, dispersants, dye transfer inhibition compounds, abrasives, bactericides, and perfumes.
Lipolytic enzymes, including lipases and cutinases, have been employed in detergent cleaning compositions for the removal of oily stains by hydrolyzing triglycerides to generate fatty acids. However, these enzymes are often inhibited by surfactants and other components present in cleaning composition, interfering with their ability to remove oily stains. Accordingly, the need exists for lipases and cutinases that can function in the harsh environment of cleaning compositions.
There also exists a need for more robust and efficient lipases and cutinases that are effective in performing transesterification reactions for the production of biofuels, lubricants, and other synthetic and semi-synthetic hydrocarbons. Preferably, such enzymes will utilize naturally occurring or commonly available starting materials and will not require protection and deprotection steps in a synthesis reaction, which complicate the synthesis and lead to the production of toxic waste products.